Hooked by romycullen
by MeetTheMateContest
Summary: "I wasn't used to having a particular human lingering in my thoughts, they were far too fragile, fast consuming. I was used to the many faces that, whilst never forgettable, were so numerous that they blended with each other. But I wasn't used to this."


**Title:** Hooked

 **Summary: "** I wasn't used to having a particular human lingering in my thoughts, they were far too fragile, fast consuming. I was used to the many faces that, whilst never forgettable, were so numerous that they blended with each other. But I wasn't used to this."

 **Pairing:** Edward x Bella

 **Rating:** M

 **Word count:** 2556

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I wandered through the streets, aimlessly looking for a woman who'd be up to what I was craving today. Easily on display, I could size them up. The way they advertised themselves as merchandise didn't upset me or repulse me as it would any other man. Having walked the earth for centuries meant I'd seen pretty much all there was to see; prostitutes were definitely not a novelty.

I liked sex as much your guy next door does, but having no heartbeat and the body temperature of a walking corpse made one night stands rather dreadful. Having your female companion lying her head on your chest only to find out you're as alive as a rock could be isn't the nicest way to end the night.

Which is why prostitutes were my go-to girls when the craving for anything other than blood would arise.

The way I saw it, it was a mutually beneficial exchange. They got money to do whatever it was they needed or pleased whilst I got to properly fuck someone without fear of being in the open. No chance of awkward encounters, no expectations and, most importantly, no questions about my mortality or lack thereof.

A short walk got me to one of the few places I knew I could trust. They never asked for a real name but had cameras on every room. It might not be obvious to a human but I could see the easily concealed devices clearly. Another reason, and honestly the one I cared about the most, was the girls working at the establishment were doing it under their own volition. They had the ultimate choice when it came to sleeping with clients, having the right to decline or ring for help if things got out of hand. They weren't forced, they hadn't been taken and sold. They simply had chosen to do one of the oldest jobs for reasons I didn't care enough about.

I sat on a stool near the stage, appreciating the endless legs curling on poles, the sensual rhythm of hips to music. I'd seen most of them already but they were always a joy, and what a joy they were in the private rooms.

Today, however, it wasn't the regulars that caught my attention. Messy hair, broken fishnets and impossibly high heels on a body that I wanted either under or on top of mine. She was new and a lot younger than I usually went for. Her almost gangly limbs moved with ease on the pole, almost as if she were bored and I had to smirk. She was something else.

I made sure she knew of my intentions as soon as she reached where I was sitting. Climbing down with grace onto my lap and giving me a long lingering kiss before standing up she guided me through the dimly lit place. The beat of the music playing downstairs started to fade and the sound of her heels clicking on the stairs grew louder. She checked us for a room and I checked her out.

As soon as the door of our room closed I had her against the wall. I quickly kissed her, wanting to taste her mouth again. She was exquisite, awakening a fire deep inside me that I'd forgotten existed. Her small hands tangled on my messy hair as mine made their way to her small perky breasts and then down to her bottom. Lifting her up, I wasted no time getting her bare for me, caressing and rubbing until she was panting for me.

Her body shivered as my cool fingers made their way into her entrance but she made no other sign of being uncomfortable, eventually growing impatient at my ministrations. I let her push me off her and make her way to the small bed where she sat and beckoned me with a nimble finger. I let my trousers fall and kicked off my shoes before joining her, enjoying the sight of her open for me.

Thrusting and gripping, grunting and moaning, her slender legs wrapped tightly around my waist - it was the closest thing to heaven I'd ever find. She tightened around me spurring my own release, the heat of her flesh and the softness of her body too much for me to bear. I growled as I came, letting my mouth fall instinctively to her neck where her pulse beat wildly against her skin. I trailed my nose up her neck…. and nada.

I stilled, surprised. Her smell, whilst not repulsing, was unappetising. _Every human was appetizing_. But she _was_ a human, a young one at that, her blood having to be one of the sweetest for my kind. Yet I couldn't find it in me to be tempted at all. Her blood didn't call to me.

I got off her, having had my time _recovering_. She made no movement, lying lazily on the bed with a satisfied expression.

"That was nice," she drawled as she let her arms stretch above her head, " and it's gonna cost you fifty bucks, bud."

"Shouldn't you charge a bit more?" I asked her raising my eyebrows as I got dressed. I found fifty dollars in my wallet and left them on the only table of the room.

"You can always tip the girl, ya know…" she replied not missing a beat, a cheeky smile in place.

I chuckled and left another fifty for her; it wasn't as if I needed the money. Checking my watch, I realised I still had ten minutes left.

"What's your name?" I asked her as I crossed my arms and let my back fall against the wall. I knew she'd probably give me the name she used for work but all I wanted was at least some sort of identity.

"Bells," she said, still smiling softly, "and yours?"

"Anthony," I lied easily, returning her smile. Both of us knew neither were our real names.

"You don't look old enough to be working here," I commented, noticing how young her features were behind the dark smudged makeup.

"Kinda late to ask, don't ya think?" She challenged me with a raised eyebrow and I had to give her as much, her age was pointless now.

"I wasn't asking," I clarified with a smirk. She was a little spitfire.

Bells chuckled at that, the sound rich and girly, completely unexpected.

"How old are you?" I asked her now, just for the sake of amusing her. I hadn't enjoyed the company of a human in decades.

"Nineteen," she stated matter of fact, still smiling, almost daring me to contradict her.

"And new," I added, not buying her age. She looked eighteen at most and she probably was, but I had the feeling she hadn't been for long.

"You're rather inquisitive, Anthony," she observed. "Are you a cop?"

I had to laugh at that, I had had my times policing, but not in the way she was thinking.

"No, I'm not. Just curious, sweetheart." I heard her heartbeat quicken at the term of endearment. " My time's up, enjoy your tip."

She smiled but it was tight, nothing like the easy smiles she'd given me in her post coital bliss.

I left without looking back.

/00/

It had been two weeks since I'd been to the stripclub, and Bells had been on my mind a lot. Having lived for centuries meant I wasn't used to having a particular human lingering in my thoughts, they were far too fragile, fast consuming. I was used to the many faces that, whilst never forgettable, were so numerous that they blended with each other.

But I wasn't used to this.

I could remember the way Bells' heart had fought against her ribcage at one simple word, the way her body had felt against mine, like a puzzle finally being complete. I could remember her scent, the way my throat hadn't burned with thirst at its presence. Her odd use of vocabulary, the presence of somewhat formal education present and hidden beneath her drawl and slang.

I lay at night wondering what had made a human from the twenty first century sell herself for sex before her world considered her legal to do most things. It was obvious to me that she'd been doing it for a while. Whilst in my days, consent and ages had been different due to our impending mortality, I was aware it wasn't the same now. Humans weren't in Bells position for no reason. I'd never cared enough to know, I'd never wondered why, not whilst both their needs and mine were met.

But not now.

Bells short presence in my existence had shifted me off my axis.

/00/

"You're still mopping," Tanya noticed as she made her way into our flat, dark shades high on her strawberry hair, cherry-red lips pursed.

"I'm not moping," I mumbled, sounding like a sullen boy.

"Sure sure, and I'm breathing because I need to," she replied with an eye roll.

I was used to our bantering and I welcomed the familiarity. I'd found Tanya back in the post-revolution days. The _French_ revolution. She'd been wandering alone for a while, having been changed in Ireland and left to fend for herself after her coven had dissolved.

We quickly realised we had a lot in common, maybe too much, and had been together ever since. Whilst both of us had made efforts to be remotely attracted to one another, we suffered the ailment of finding the idea of being with the other repulsive. Tanya had joked about the fact that we looked like brother and sister was probably why, and I had to agree. The resemblance between us was uncanny and the vampiric facelift of death only enhanced it further. Hence why our current paperwork claimed us to be siblings.

"You know you could always find her ,right," Tanya suggested as she sat opposite me, hand under her chin.

"What for?" I asked, honestly curious. I didn't even know why this particular human was any different from all the others.

"So you can move on," she stated simply. "Or maybe settle down and give up sleeping with hookers."

"Tan, may I remind you what it is that you do?" I asked thoroughly amused. She just grinned.

Tanya had figured that since she was already sleeping with strangers she could as well make money from it. And I had to be a huge hypocrite to condemn her for it. I knew she was bored, the years weighing on her as much as they were me.

The only difference was Tanya actually hoped to find her mate in one of her many affairs. The idea of finding the missing piece in her life was the sole reason she still walked the earth. I knew our bond alone wasn't enough to keep her around for another couple of hundred years.

Tanya ruffled my hair as she made her way to her room, her scent lingering after having fed from whatever male had kept her occupied. And as the last trail of Tanya's scent vanished and so did the slight burn in my throat, I realised I had to find Bells.

/00/

I fed on two unassuming humans who were walking in the dark, wondering how after centuries of tales they still walked through dark alleys. Dazzling them with my scent I let their wounds close with my venom, the blood I'd taken from them not enough to harm them but enough to keep me satisfied for another day.

Breaking into the club had been ridiculously easy compared to finding the files of the girls. The amount of paperwork and drawers annoying me to no end. After a few minutes of snooping, however, I found what I was looking for.

Bella Swan.

I memorised her information and smiled to myself, she had turned eighteen a month ago and she'd almost given me her real name.

/00/

The neighbourhood Bella lived in was as far from safe as a neighbourhood could ever be. The sounds of sirens in the distance alerted me of the many possibilities in regards to Bella's fate. She was a small girl, 5'3 and underfed, she didn't stand a chance if anyone decided to attack her.

I frowned at the thought, the idea of her being hurt curling around my stomach with a vice grip and radiating to my chest.

Bella's building was only three stories and rundown, the wood of the stairs chipped and faded. Moss resided between the orange bricks and from the looks of it, the place had no electricity.

I climbed easily to the second floor where I knew Bella's flat was only to find out the place looked as awful as its exterior -if not worse. The carpet was stained, the colour undecipherable under years of use and dirt. The walls were in a similar state, humidity staining the yellow aged wallpaper, some of it actually falling from the top near a badly painted ceiling.

The place was small, far too small and far too cold. The chilly air from the night that had gotten in as I opened the window seemed to barely affect the living space. A small table and chair, a poorly equipped kitchen and a small fridge was all furniture besides a sofa. A sofa where Bella's sleeping form was curled into a tight ball.

I made my way to her, the soft thundering of her heart calling my name. I crunched and sniffed her hair, then her neck and cheek. I still found her scent horribly bland, the idea of tasting it making gag as much a human food would. Her eyelids fluttered and she sighed in her sleep. I stilled, unaffected by her scent but wary of her waking up.

I'd heard about it, not many times but enough to leave an impression on me. My never fading memory told me what my mind was trying hard not to accept.

Logically, I knew not being able to stay away from her, both physically and mentally, weren't a daily occurrence in my kind. I'd tried to reason it was because our interaction had shifted something in me. I knew what that something was though. I knew why going back to the way I was before her was just not possible. I also knew why she was the last thing I'd ever thought of eating or why sex with other women had turned as unappetising as Bella's smell.

She was my mate.

There was no choice for me but to follow her and make her mine, my existence inevitably tied to hers as I knew hers had become tied to mine. We'd been made for each other, our bond both protecting her from me and alerting me of whom she was. It wasn't common for a vampire to find their mate, people like Tanya were seeking for theirs with an almost desperate dedication. And here I was, looking at my mate's sleeping face without having given it a thought. At least not until Bella came into my life, inevitably changing the course of my existence.

I stayed the night and swiftly left her flat as I heard her heart pick up its pace. I remained behind her door, waiting in the hall as I heard Bella walk around, shower, and do the things humans did when they got up.

One I heard her settle, I knocked on her door with no excuse planned. I would just tell her I'd find a way to get her address, even if that scared her to death. I needed for her to know the truth, knowing she'd be open to hear what I had to say, knowing it because of our bond. I wanted to get to know her and I wanted her to know me; all of me.

It was with hope filling my dead veins and arteries that I faced my future.

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